There is so much about this relatively simple piece that I find quite brilliant!

– I can relate: This is the season when EVERYONE is out shopping. I love that Pastor Rick gave the examples of how he hated it and his wife and daughters were excited! When most of (if not all of) your audience can relate to what’s happening in the video piece, you almost can’t go wrong.

– I’m not distracted: While we as video producers have so much technology at our disposal, that doesn’t mean that we have to use ALL of it every time we tackle a project. They shot this piece using a Sony HDR-FX1 on a Fig-Rig for stabilization (to borrow a line from Ferris Beuller, “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up!“)… they didn’t do any monster treatments to the video… nothing crashing or splashing on-screen to take my attention away from what’s being said… just good shooting and effective editing.

– I am drawn in and will remember: A simple, well-told narrative in a setting that I’m very familiar with, combined with a great, unexpected twist that intertwines “my story” with the story of Christ’s birth that reminds me how uncomfortable that I am with being quiet, even when I’m overwhelmed by the noise. This will stick with me and make me think about the premise again.

Other thoughts:

Location – location – location! It’s not always easy to get permission to shoot at a Target Store, but so worth the effort! If they had shot this piece anywhere that wasn’t a retail location it would have missed the mark.

This is not a recipe for every church or situation; you really have to have a pastor/teacher who can be comfortable with somthing like this or it can all go horribly wrong. This isn’t a knock on a pastor who can’t pull this off, you just have to know him and his strengths and weaknesses.